Hurrah! we have won the match.

Heigh-ho! this is a very hot day.

Fie, fie! you should not make such mistakes.

Wow! what a nice dress.

Hush! I have missed the train.

Pooh! I am not afraid of snake.

Alas! he is so sick.

Oh! what a pleasant surprise.

Ah! it was really sad.

One Word to Another Word

When a word is joined with another word by a Conjunction; each of the words is generally of the similar parts of speech; such as,

¨      A noun is joined to another noun or pronoun; an adjective to another adjective; a preposition to another preposition; a verb to another verb.

Noun to Noun – Cows and donkeys are both very helpful animals.

Noun to Pronoun – Sam and you have to come for lunch today.

Pronoun to Pronoun – I and you are both right.

Adjective to Adjective – I am upset, but hopeful.

Preposition to Preposition – A bird flies in and through the air.

Verb to Verb – She came and talked to me wisely.

Noun to Noun – She is a fool as well as a dishonest.

Noun to Noun – Is this baby a boy or a girl?

¨      There are few Conjunctions that often go in pairs; such as, either – or; neither – nor; but – also; both – and; but – also; not only – but also.

Noun to Noun – She is neither an unfair nor a dishonest.

Noun to Noun – He is both an unfair and a dishonest.

Adjective to Adjective – She is both wise and talented.

Adjective to Adjective – She is not only wise, but also talented.

Verb to Verb – You should either work or leave.

Adverb to Adverb – You behaved neither kindly nor wisely.

One Sentence to Another Sentence

Among the Conjunctions that join one sentence to another sentence the mostly can be noticed from the below-mentioned examples: -

Verb is that Parts of Speech by means of which an individual or a thing can be said to do something or to be or become something; or to suffer something. Verbs basically indicate some type of action. In other words, by mans of a Verb we can say something about an individual or a thing.

The word or the group of words indicating the thing or the individual is the Subject of the Verb.

We can find out the Subject of a Verb by asking, What is the thing or Who is the person that is, or suffers, or does?

1) Whale is a fish that does not lay eggs.
2) Sam saw tigers in the zoo.
3) The garden is dug by a gardener.

In the first sentence, what thing is told to be a fish that does not lay eggs? A whale. Therefore, the noun whale is the Subject of the Verb ‘is’.

In the second sentence, what person is told to have seen tigers in the zoo? The person Sam. Therefore, the noun Sam is the Subject of the Verb ‘saw’.

In the third sentence, what thing is told to be dug by a gardener? The ground. Therefore, the noun ground is the Subject of the Verb ‘is dug’.

Whenever, the Verb is associated with the subject a Sentence or the main part of a Sentence is formed.

Verb and Object

If we say, “A cat sleeps”, the action indicated by the Verb sleeps ends with the cat. However, if we say, “A cat killed the mouse”, the action meant by killed does not end with the cat, but it passes on to the mouse who is killed.

1)      A cat killed the mouse.

In this sentence, mouse is the Object to the Verb killed.

2) A cat sleeps the mouse.

The sentence makes no sense. The Verb sleeps can’t have an Object after it.

Verbs can be divided into three classes:-

• Transitive
• Intransitive
• Auxiliary

Transitive Verb: – In case of a Transitive Verb, the action does not end with the doer; but the action passes from the doer to the Object. In other words, a Verb that requires an object is a Transitive Verb. For example,

1)      Sam wrote a poem.

2)      I don’t know whether you have come.

In the first example, ‘poem’ is the Object to the Verb ‘wrote’.

In the second example, ‘whether you have come’ is the Object to the Verb ‘know’.

Intransitive Verb: – In case of an Intransitive Verb, the action ends with the doer, instead passes to the Object from the doer. For example,

• We sleep for being fit and healthy.

Sleep what? Has no answer; this is completely non-sense. Objects can’t come after Verbs like sleep. Therefore, sleep is an Intransitive Verb.

Auxiliary Verb: – An Auxiliary Verb helps to form a tense or a mood of another verb; like,

• Did you learn?
• I have slept.
• Does he know?
• We shall overcome.
• You will go.

N.B. – The Verb which is helped by an Auxiliary Verb is called a Principal Verb.

There are few Verbs that without any alteration of form, can be Intransitive or Transitive as per the sense; like

There are some Verbs that have one form for the Intransitive Verb and another form for the Transitive Verb.

Verb that can not be used in all tenses or moods is known as Defective Verb.

i) My hand is on the table.

In the above sentence, if you omit the word on, then the sentence makes no sense. You can place your hand on the table, or under the table, or above the table. Unless you add some Preposition to the sentence, the relation between the table and the hand is not clear.

ii) You are in a good mood today.

In the sentence, the word in is placed before the noun ‘mood’ (or ‘a good mood’) and shows what you have to do with a good mood. Therefore, in is a Preposition.

iii) You arrived here before me.

In this sentence, the word before is placed before the pronoun ‘me’ and it shows what your arrival has to do with ‘me’. It shows you arrived sooner than I did. Therefore, before is a Preposition.

Prepositions are never added to any Part of Speech other than a noun or a pronoun or their equivalent.

Prepositions often have same form as the Adverbs. So, how can you differentiate? Here is a simple rule that can help you out to solve this problem and that is;

Adverbs are never added to a noun or a pronoun.

Following this rule you can tell whether a word is an Adverb or a Preposition. Some examples are given below;

The noun or the pronoun, which is placed after a Preposition, is called an Object.

• Sometimes two Prepositions are used together, but both having the same object; as,

The rat crept in between the cardboards.

The rat appeared from between the cardboards.

The man stood out from among all.

She came from within her room.

• Sometimes, a Preposition takes form of a phrase, instead of a single word. However, a Prepositional Phrase always ends in a Simple Preposition.

In front of; because of; for the sake of; in the event of, with regard to; on behalf of; with reference to; in the place of; with a view to; on account of; by means of; in opposition to;, because of; in lieu of;, instead of.

• Sometimes, the object to the Preposition is an adverb used as a noun and sometimes is a sentence.

Till then; from here; from now; before now etc. (Adverbs)

She told everybody of what she had done. (Sentence)

Adverbs can be divided in two categories; 1) Simple Adverbs and 2) Interrogative Adverbs.

1) Simple Adverbs: – Adverbs that simply qualify a Verb, an Adjective or other Adverb are called Simple Adverbs.

Simple Adverbs can be differentiated from each other depending on their meaning;

• Adverbs of Manner or State or Quality: – This type of Adverbs shows in what manner a thing is done or in what state a thing exists; such as,

You did it well. You did it thus (in this way), You did it together. You did the work slowly, but wisely. You all did it alike (the same way). You acted nicely.

N.B: – Adverbs belong to this class often formed by adding ‘ly’ to the Adjectives, like slow, slowly; wise, wisely; nice, nicely, soft, softly; happy, happily; etc.

• Adverbs of Quantity: – This type of Adverbs shows to what extent a thing is done; such as,

You are quite brave. I have almost recovered. You are the only person who did the work.

He is very sick. You have talked enough.

This movie is far the best. I am a little annoyed with you.

I am extremely happy. They are entirely satisfied.

• Adverbs of Numbers: – This type of Adverbs shows in what order or how often a thing is done.

I went there thrice. He came to my house once. He eats four times a day.

I go there sometimes. He often came. You came seldom.

I never went to his house. She came no more to my house. You went there again.

The kid brought firstly a pencil, secondly a chalk and thirdly a slate.

• Adverbs of Time: – This type of Adverbs shows for how long or when a thing is done.

You did this before. I did it afterwards.

I have already done this. You did it long ago.

She was sick then, but is much better now.

You came early but went late. At last you came. I went soon.

You came at once. He has came to-day. They went yesterday.

You have to come hourly. I will go tomorrow.

I go to school daily.

Meanwhile my daughter will stay with me.

• Adverbs of Place: – This type of Adverbs shows in what place or where a thing is done.

She is not here, but there. She was nowhere to be found.

You went backwards, but you should go forwards.

I stood before not behind.

Some of them stood near, others beyond and others around.

We will come here, if you will go there.

You stood aside. I will send you away. I looked for him everywhere.

• Affirming or Denying Adverbs: – This type of Adverbs expresses denying or affirming of something; such as,

I shall surely come. She will probably go.

I answered yes. You answered no. Perhaps they will go.

2) Interrogative Adverbs: – Adverbs that are used for asking some questions are called Interrogative Adverbs; like,

¨      State or Manner: – How did you do this?

¨      Number: – How many days in a week?

¨      Quantity: – How far we have to go?

¨      Time: – How long will they stay here? When did they come?

¨      Place: – Where do you stay?

¨      Cause: – Why did you do that?

N.B: – Sometimes Interrogative Adverbs are used in a Relative sense; these are called Relative Adverbs. The antecedent Noun to which they are related may be either expressed or omitted.

• The antecedent expressed  

This is the house where we stay.

Let me tell you the time when I shall go.

• The antecedent omitted.

This is (= the house in which) where we stay.

Let me tell you when (= the time by which) I shall go.

Sometimes ‘the’ is used as a Relative Adverb; provided it should be place prior to an adverb or an adjective in Comparison Degree and provided a same combination of ‘the’ with a Comparative to come after it. This ‘the’ is distinct from the Definite Article.

The sooner you come, the better for you.

The more you study, the better result you can expect.

The nearer the bone, the sweeter the meat.

In the above sentences, the first ‘the’ is a Relative Adverb, the second ‘the’ is a Simple Adverb.

1)      By showing quality of a thing or a person

2)      By showing quantity of a thing or a person

3)      By showing number of things or persons

4)      By showing that one thing or person is to be considered at a time

5)      By showing which thing or person is destined

According to the above mentioned ways, Adjectives can be categorized in five categories; such as,

1. ADJECTIVES OF QUALITY
2. ADJECTIVES OF QUANTITY
3. ADJECTIVES OF NUMBER
4. DISTRIBUTIVE ADJECTIVES
5. DEMONSTRATIVE ADJECTIVES

a. ADJECTIVES OF QUALITY or STATE

An Adjective that shows the Quality or State of a thing or a person is called the Adjective of Quality; such as,

A sick man, a brave girl, a glass of cold water, a tiny tot.

The words in italics show quality of a thing or a person; therefore they are Adjectives of Quality.

b. ADJECTIVES OF QUANTITY or DEGREE

Adjectives that show the Quantity, i.e. how much of a thing is meant are called the Adjectives of Quantity or State.

She ate little (a small quantity of) cake.

She ate less (a smaller quantity of) cake.

She ate least (the smallest quantity of) cake.

She ate much (a large quantity of) cake.

She ate more (a larger quantity of) cake.

She ate most (the largest quantity of) cake.

She ate no cake. She ate some cake.

She ate enough (sufficient quantity of) cake.

She ate all (the entire amount of) the cake.

c. ADJECTIVES OF NUMBER

Adjective that denotes some number is called Adjectives of Number. Adjectives of Number are divided into 1) Definite Numerals and 2) Indefinite Numerals.

1) Definite Numerals – Definite Numerals denote some exact number. These are subdivided into a) Cardinals and b) Ordinals.

a) Cardinals – Cardinals show how many objects there are; like, one, two, three, and four.

b) Ordinals – Ordinals show in what order an object stands; like, first, second, third, fourth.

2) Indefinite Numerals – Indefinite Numerals show number of some kind but without indicating exactly what the number; such as, all, some; most, more; several; few, many.

Some people are poor. Many men are rich. Few works have been done. All men are mortal. More people went there today than yesterday.

d. DISTRIBUTIVE ADJECTIVES

Distributive Adjectives denote that the things or persons named are taken separately, singly or in separate lots. Adjectives of this class are each, every, neither and either.

Let every man come.

He told a lie each time.

I liked neither of the films.

Either of these shirts will suit you.

e. DEMONSTRATIVE ADJECTIVES

Adjectives that point out which thing or person is indicated are called Demonstrative Adjectives; such as, this pencil, these pencils; that book, those books.

Here, this and these indicate some pencil or pencils nearby; while that and those indicate some book or books further off.

N.B:- This and that are used for Singular nouns; while these and those are used for Plural nouns.

Demonstrative Adjectives are subdivided into, 1) Definite Demonstratives and 2) Indefinite Demonstratives.

1) Definite Demonstratives: – Adjectives that point to any particular thing or person are called Definite Demonstratives.

2) Indefinite Demonstratives: – Adjectives that do not point to any particular thing or person are called Indefinite Demonstratives.

A bird sat on a branch of this tree.

That tree does not bear the same flower as this.

Some boy (or a certain boy) is waiting there.

I will visit doctor on some other day.

I saw him one day on that side of the road.

Any individual can do such a thing like that.

N.B: – ‘The’ is denoted as the Definite Article; and ‘a’ or ‘an’ is called Indefinite Article. ‘The’ is nothing but the shorter from of ‘this, these, that, those’; while ‘a’ or ‘an’ is the shorter form or ‘one’. Therefore, an Article is not a distinct Part of Speech; it is a form of Adjective.

Nouns refer to a thing or a person and give name to it; Pronouns also refer to a thing or a person, but don’t give a name.

Instead of repeating a noun, which has been already understood or mentioned earlier, we often put another word, and this word is knows as a Pronoun. Pro means “instead of or for”.

Pronouns are used to avoid the repetition of nouns.

The significance of Pronouns is best understood by trying to do with no Pronouns.

It would sound so awkward; also being so boring, if we use the same Noun repeatedly. We can save this awkwardness by using Pronouns:-

Richard saw a spider on the table, this spider Richard thought may hurt Richard, unless Richard killed the spider with a paper-weight, this paper-weight Richard had in Richard’s hand.

The nouns in the above sentence can be replaced by Pronouns and it can be better expressed as below:-

Richard saw a spider on the table, which he thought may hurt him, unless he killed it with a paper-weight, which he had in his hand.

In the above sentence, ‘he’ and ‘him’ are Pronouns and used for Richard; the first ‘which’ stands for ‘spider’; the second ‘which’ is used for ‘paper-weight’; and ‘it’ is for ‘spider’.

Therefore, the primary use of a Pronoun is to stop repetition of Noun.

There are four types of Pronouns:

1)      Personal Pronouns: I, you, he, she etc.

2)      Relative Pronouns: who, which, as, that etc.

3)      Demonstrative Pronouns: that, this, one, such etc.

4)      Interogative Pronouns: which? who? what?

1) PERSONAL PRONOUNS

The pronouns stand for three persons are denoted as Personal Pronouns, such as -

a)      The First, which stands for the person speaking; like I, we.

b)      The Second, which stands for the person spoken to: like you.

c)      The Third, which stands for the thing or person spoken of; like it, he, she etc.

The First Person, Feminine or Masculine

The Second Person, Feminine or Masculine

The Third Person of Every Gender

While, any of the above-mentioned pronouns show what or who is the possessor or owner of a thing, the pronouns are then called Possessives. Such pronouns are used 1) when leaded by preposition “of”; 2) when separated from a noun by a verb; 3) when the noun is not spoken:-

a) That pen of yours is broken.

b) This dress is yours. That pencil is mine.

c) My pen and yours (your pen) are both broken.

When “self” is added to a pronoun, the pronoun is then denoted as Reflexive.

I. The First Person

II. The Second Person

III. The Third Person

2. RELATIVE PRONOUNS

The pronouns relate to other pronoun or noun, are called Relative Pronouns.

The pronoun or noun going before a Relative Pronoun is called an Antecedent.

Relative pronouns are mostly expressed by the word “which” or “who”.

Examples of Relative Pronouns

a)      She lost the pen which I bought.

b)      I sold the car which I used for many years.

c)       That is the person whom I talked yesterday.

d)      We love those people who love us.

The above words in Italics are examples of relative pronouns.

N.B:  a) The word “which” is generally used for all sorts of living things only except men and women as well as things with no life.

b) The word “who” is generally used for men and women and is so of the feminine, masculine or common gender.

c) The Relative Pronoun is of the same gender, person and number as Antecedent.

3) DEMONSTRATIVE PRONOUNS

A Pronoun that points to or demonstrates a noun is called a Demonstrative Pronoun. A demonstrative pronoun is used for the noun going before it. The noun is denoted as the Antecedent to that demonstrative pronoun.

The pronouns belong to the Demonstrative are this, these, that, those; such; one, none, ones.

This, these, that, those – Uses of the mentioned words as pronouns are explained below:

Play and work are both necessary for being well; this (= work) gives energy and that (= play) gives rest.

In this sentence, the word “this” refers to the latter, i.e. work and the word “that” refers to the former, i.e. play. You can see that ‘this’ or ‘that’ does not specify what or which work or play is referred; unlike Demonstrative Adjectives.

Such – The word ‘Such’ may be substituted for the noun in any number.

A)    He is the judge recruited to hear this case and as such (= as a recruited judge) he won’t talk to you before trial. (Singular).

B)     Presidents are made such (= the ministers) by the law and thus must be obeyed. (Plural).

One, none, and ones – While the antecedent (the noun) is in its Singular Number, ‘one’ is used. However, if the antecedent is in Plural Number, ‘ones’ is used. ‘None’ is the shortened form of ‘not one’.

A)    He won the first prize last year; but this year he did not win one (= a prize). (Singular).

B)     There are fifteen lazy students and twenty studious ones (= students) in our class. (Plural).

C)    She has a pen, but he has none (= not a pen).

Indefinite Demonstrative Pronouns

Sometimes we use Demonstrative pronouns indefinitely, i.e. we do not use them as substitutes for some nouns mentioned expressly, but for some nouns that can be easily understood from idiom or the context.

a)      One – This pronoun is used in the sense of any individual or every individual.

One must take care of one’s well-being =

A man (any and every individual) must take care of his well-being.

b) They – This pronoun is used for men in common, or a person whose name is deliberately hidden.

1)      They say (men in general) that honestly is the best policy.

2)      He told me (= a person whom I want to hide, told me) that you were the culprit.

4) INTERROGATIVE PRONOUNS

Pronouns which ask questions are Interrogative Pronouns.

a)      Who told this?

b)      Which of these oranges is rotten?

c)      Whose pen is this?

d)      How are you?

e)      What did you ask?

f)        Of whom did you speak?

There are five cases of nouns;

• The Nominative
• The Genitive
• The Accusative
• The Dative
• The Vocative

The Nominative Case: The Nominative Case names the thing or the person that suffers or performs the action expressed by a Verb; for example,

“The tiger killed a deer.” In this sentence, the verb ‘killed’ expresses action of killing and the action is performed by ‘the tiger’. So, the ‘tiger’ is in its Nominative Case.

“The baby is fed by her mother.”  In this sentence, the verb ‘is fed’ expresses the action of being fed. The person suffers the action is ‘the baby’. So, the ‘baby’ is in its Nominative Case.

To find out Nominative Case in a sentence, you have to consider the verb and ask: “What or who does this?” or “what or who suffers this?” The answer to the question is the noun or pronoun in its Nominative Case.

The noun or the pronoun is the Subject of the respective sentence.

The Genitive Case: The Genitive Case stands for relationship or possession; for example,

“The lion’s mane.”   “ The baby’s mother.”  Who is the owner of mane? The lion. Who has relationship with the mother? The baby. So, in these sentences, “lion’s” and “baby’s” are in their Genitive Case.

The Genitive Case is generally formed by adding apostrophe s to the noun;  such as,

Singular – woman’s.

Plural – women’s.

However, if the plural word ends in s, or if last syllable of a singular starts and ends in s, then the Genitive Case is generally formed by just adding apostrophe.

Singular – Moses’ Law.

Plural –  horses’ back.

Points to note:

• Genitive Case is mostly used when the nouns indicate any living thing;  such as,

The lion’s mane; the man’s father; the horse’s back, the kid’s toy.

However, if the noun indicates any non-living thing, then the possession is mostly expressed by preposition “of”.

“The windows of the train” ;  not “the train’s windows.”

“The heat of fire” ;  not “the fire’s heat.”

• Unlike other cases, Genitive Case is indicated by change in the form of a noun.

The Accusative Case: The Accusative Case indicates Direct Object; the force of Preposition or the action of Verb is always directed to that object.

“The tiger killed a deer.” The action of the Verb killed directed to which object? The answer is ‘a deer’;  so, ‘deer’ is in its Accusative Case.

The Dative Case: The Dative Case always indicates Indirect Object of the Verb, if there is any.

“I gave Sam a pen.” Sam = to Sam; “Sam” is the Indirect Object in this sentence. “Book” is the Direct Object in this sentence.

The Vocative Case: The Vocative Case always indicates the individual addressed; like,

John, please come here;  John is in Vocative Case

Rita, give me the book;  Rita is in Vocative Case.

The difference in the type of a Noun that shows whether we are talking to a female or a male is denoted as Gender.

There are four types of Genders; the Masculine Gender, the Feminine Gender, the Common Gender and the Neuter Gender.

• Masculine Gender: Names of the males are of the Masculine Gender, such as man, hero, actor etc.
• Feminine Gender: Names of the females are of the Feminine Gender; such as woman, heroine, actress etc.
• Common Gender: Names that can be given either to a female or to a male are of the Common Gender; such as child, parent, student etc.
• Neuter Gender: Things with no life can’t be either female or male; so, names of those things are of the Neuter Gender; such as chair, table, book etc.

There are three different methods to distinguish the Feminine Noun from the Masculine Noun;

1) By a change of the word

2) By a change of the ending

3) By adding a word after or before.

• By a change of the word

Masculine – Feminine

Husband – Wife

Nephew – Niece

Brother – Sister

Cock – Hen

Wizard – Witch

Son – Daughter

King – Queen

Gentleman – Lady

Boy – Girl

Bull – Cow

• By a change of the ending

Masculine – Feminine

Author – Authoress

Lad – Lass

Hero – Heroine

Widow – Widower

Master – Mistress

God – Goddess

Duke – Duchess

Lion – Lioness

Shepherd – Shepherdess

Patron – Patroness

• By adding a word after or before

Masculine – Feminine

Land-lord – Land-lady

Grandpa – Grandma

Pea-cock – Pea-hen

Bride-groom – Bride

Man-servant – Maid-servant

He-goat – She-goat

Examples of Nouns in Common Gender

Singer – male or female

Parent – father or mother

Cat – male or female

Teacher – master or mistress

Deer – stag or hind

Bird- cock or hen

Cub – male or female

Fish – milter or spawner

Pupil – male or female

Servant – man or maid

Enemy (or friend) – male or female enemy (or friend)

Orphan – boy or girl whose parents are dead

Infant or baby – male or female infant or baby

There are five kinds of Nouns; 1) Proper Noun, 2) Common Noun, 3) Material Noun, 4) Collective Noun and 5) Abstract Noun.

In this lesson, we will have a brief discussion on different kinds of nouns.

1)      Proper Noun: When the noun denotes one specific thing, place, or person as distinct from all others, it is called Proper Noun; like, John (name of a person), London (name of a place), and Bible (name of a book).

N.B. – A Proper Noun should always be commenced with capital letter.

2)      Common Noun: When the noun does not denote any particular person or thing; and is common to all things or persons of the same class, it is called Common Noun; like, ‘man’, ‘city’, ‘book’.

Here, ‘man’ denotes any and every man. ‘City’ denotes all the cities in this world and ‘book’ points out all books.

N.B. – Sometimes, a Proper Noun acts as a Common Noun, when it’s used in a general sense; like,

He is the Einstein (= the greatest mathematician) of this century.

3)      Material Noun: A Material Noun denotes a substance or a matter of which a thing is made; like,

Air is lighter then water.

Fish is a good food.

Cow eats grass.

Rice is a staple food.

Fire burns.

Book is made of paper.

We write with ink.

All the italics words are examples of Material Noun.

N.B. – According to the sense, the same word can be used as a Common Noun or a Material Noun.

a)      “Cow gives milk”. In this sentence, ‘milk’ is represented as a Common Noun.

b)      “Milk is a balanced food”. In this sentence, ‘milk’ is a Material Noun.

4)      Collective Noun: When the noun denotes a group or a collection of objects, considered as single complete whole, it is called Collective Noun. These objects can be animals, emotions, people, concepts, inanimate things or other things. For example;

A hive of bees; there can be millions of bees, but only one hive. In this sentence, ‘bees’ is the Common Noun that denotes all bees, but hive is a Collective Noun; since it stands for all bees in it and not for any particular bee.

5)      Abstract Noun: When the noun denotes some state, action or quality apart from anything having quality, etc. Abstract nouns can’t be touched, smelt, heard, tasted or seen; like,

We know that milk is white. We also know that tooth is white. We can so talked about whiteness apart from tooth or milk or anything which is white. Therefore, whiteness is the abstract noun in both the sentences.

State – hardness, bondage, poverty, etc

Action – choice, laughter, sight, etc.

Quality – height, honesty, nobility, etc.

N.B. – A same word may act as an Abstract Noun or a Common Noun, as per the sense. If an Abstract Noun is used as a Common Noun, it means A) the person having the quality, or B) the thing to which the state, quality or action belongs:-

Instances of Persons

Witness – 1. Testimony or evidence (Abstract Noun)

2. The person who gives evidence (Common Noun)

Beauty – 1. The state or quality of being beautiful (Abstract Noun)

2. Who possesses beauty (Common Noun)

Instances of Things

Speech – 1. The sense of speaking (Abstract Noun)

2. The word spoken (Common Noun)

Judgment – 1. The act of judging (Abstract Noun)

2. The decision given by judge (Common Noun)

Formation of Abstract Nouns

Abstract Nouns may be formed from Common Nouns, Adjectives or Verbs.

Abstract Nouns from Common Nouns

Common Noun          Abstract Noun

King                              Kingship

Rascal                           Rascality

Slave                             Slavery

Captain                         Captaincy

Agent                            Agency

Friend                           Friendship

Abstract Nouns from Adjectives

Adjective                     Abstract Noun

Cold                               Coldness

Wide                              Width

Sweet                             Sweetness

Proud                             Pride

Brave                             Bravery

Great                             Greatness

Abstract Nouns from Verbs

Verbs Abstract Noun

Serve                             Service

Please                            Pleasure

Protect                           Protection

Conceal                         Concealment

Expect                           Expectation

Free                               Freedom

In two ways, a Material, Abstract or Proper noun can be changed into a Common Noun; either by putting an article (“the” or “a”) before it, or by transforming it into plural number.

Proper Noun                                            Common noun

Daniel was an educated Jew.                    1. A Daniel came to decision.

2. There are hundreds of Daniels.

Abstract Noun 1. Abraham was the justice of peace. 

Justice is a dignified virtue.                        2. There were five justices present in the court.

Material Noun 1. I ate the mango on the table

Mango is a nutritious fruit.                         2. Let me eat one of the mangoes.